Virginia Law

When a party as tenant for life is entitled to the annual interests on a sum of money, or is entitled to the use of any estate, or a part thereof, and is willing to accept a gross sum in lieu thereof, or the party liable for such interest, or affected by such claim, has the right to pay a gross sum in lieu thereof, or if the court in any legal proceeding orders a gross sum to be paid in lieu thereof, the sum shall be estimated according to the then value of an annuity of eight percent on the principal sum during the probable life of such person, according to the following table, showing in Column I the present value, on the basis of eight percent interest, of an annuity of $1, payable at the end of every year that a person of a given age may be living, for the ages therein stated:

PRESENT VALUE

1973, c. 355, § 55-269.1; 1981, c. 612; 1990, c. 831; 2019, c. 712.

A. Calculate the interest at eight percent upon the sum to the income of which, or upon the value of the property to the use of which, the person is entitled. Multiply this interest by the present value of an annuity of $1, as set opposite the person's age in the table, and the product is the gross value of the life estate of such person.

B. Example: Suppose a person whose age is 42 is a tenant for life in the whole of an estate worth $10,500. The annual interest on that sum at eight percent is $840. The present value of an annuity of $1 at the age of 42, as shown by the table, is $10.77, which, multiplied by $840, gives $9,046.80 as the gross value of such life estate in the premises, or the proceeds of such life estate.

Code 1919, §§ 5132, 5133; 1946, p. 555; Code 1950, §§ 55-270, 55-271; 1973, c. 355; 1981, c. 612; 1990, c. 831; 2019, c. 712.

When any two parties, as joint tenants for life, are entitled to the annual interest on a sum of money, or are entitled to the use of any estate or a part thereof, and are willing to accept a gross sum in lieu thereof, or the party liable for such interest, or affected by such claim, has the right to pay a gross sum in lieu thereof, or if the court in any legal proceeding orders a gross sum to be paid in lieu thereof, the sum shall be estimated according to the then value of an annuity of eight percent on the principal sum during the probable joint lives of such persons (which probable joint lives shall be computed from the table in this section for computing uniform seniority) as set forth in Column II in the table in § 55.1-500, showing the present value, on the basis of eight percent interest, of an annuity of $1 payable at the end of every year that two persons of given ages may both be living for the ages therein stated:

TABLE OF UNIFORM SENIORITY

1973, c. 355, § 55-272.1; 1981, c. 612; 2019, c. 712.

A. Calculate the interest at eight percent upon the sum to the income of which, or upon the value of the property to the use of which, the joint life tenants are entitled. Multiply this interest by the present value of an annuity of $1, as shown in Column II of § 55.1-500, for the joint equal age of such joint life tenants. The joint equal age of such tenants shall be obtained as follows: Take the difference in age in years between such tenants and refer to the table in § 55.1-502 and add to the younger age the value opposite such difference, and the sum is the joint equal age; take this joint equal age and refer to the table in § 55.1-500 and find in Column II the value of an annuity of $1 a year payable for life during such joint equal age. The product of the interest and the value of an annuity for a given joint equal age is the gross value of the joint life estate of such person therein.

B. Example: Doe, age 30, and Roe, age 40, are joint tenants for life in the whole of an estate worth $10,500: The difference in ages is 10 and, as shown by the table in § 55.1-502, the value opposite age difference 10 is seven. Seven added to 30, Doe's age, gives 37; as shown by the table in § 55.1-500, the value in Column II for an annuity of $1 for two joint lives at joint equal age 37 is $10.44 and no mills, and this, multiplied by $840 (the interest at eight percent on $10,000), gives $8,769.60 as the gross value of the joint life estate of such persons.

1946, p. 556; Michie Suppl. 1946, § 5133a2; Code 1950, § 55-273; 1973, c. 355; 1981, c. 612; 2019, c. 712.

When more than two parties as joint tenants for life, or three or more parties as tenants in successive estates, are entitled to the annual interest on a sum of money, or are entitled to the use of any estate, or a part thereof, and are willing to accept a gross sum in lieu thereof, or the party liable for such interest, or affected by such claim, has the right to pay a gross sum in lieu thereof, or if the court in any legal proceeding orders a gross sum to be paid in lieu thereof, the sum shall be estimated according to the then value of an annuity of eight percent on the principal sum during the probable lives of such persons. Probable lives shall be computed from the Makehamized mortality table for total population in the United States, 1969-1971, published by the Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce.

Example: Three persons, ages 30, 40, and 45, are joint tenants for life in the whole of an estate worth $10,500: the equivalent equal age, w, of these three persons is given by the following formula:

C³⁰, C⁴⁰, and C⁴⁵ are found in column 6 of the above table.

A linear interpolation between x = 40 and x = 41 in the above table would yield the value of x = 40.540, which would be the equivalent equal age of the persons involved.

Finally, a linear interpolation between x = 40 and x = 41 would yield the value of A = 9.378 40.540:40.540:40.540.

This figure multiplied by $840 (the interest at eight percent on $10,500) gives $7,877.52 as the gross value of the joint life estate of such persons.

1946, p. 557; Michie Suppl. 1946, § 5133a3; Code 1950, § 55-274; 1973, c. 355; 1981, c. 612; 2019, c. 712.

In any case in which, under the laws of the Commonwealth, a provision is made for commutation in money of a life estate when all the parties interested are under no disability, such provision shall also apply when any of the parties interested are under disability. Where any of the parties interested are under disability, the court may, upon application of the guardian, conservator, committee, or trustee, if any, and, if not, by a guardian ad litem appointed by the clerk or judge of said court, of any such person, on behalf of his ward, and upon hearing evidence satisfactory to such court or judge, enter an order authorizing such guardian, conservator, committee, trustee, or guardian ad litem to consent on behalf of such person under disability to such commutation. Such consent shall be as valid and effective as if the person on whose behalf it was given were sui juris and had given such consent. All judicial orders and decrees entered prior to July 1, 1960, authorizing any such commutation where persons under disability were interested, are hereby validated and confirmed, provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as intended to impair any vested right.

1926, p. 746; Michie Code 1942, § 5133b; 1948, p. 682; Code 1950, § 55-276; 1960, c. 45; 1997, c. 801; 2019, c. 712.

Whenever a party as tenant for life, or in any other manner, has a life interest in an estate that has been sold under an action for partition or has been reduced to money, stocks, bonds, or notes, susceptible of division and when the total cost of holding such money, stocks, bonds, or notes intact amounts to more than eight percent of the gross annual income, and when the party owning such life estate is willing to accept a lump sum in lieu of such annual income, upon the application of such person entitled to such annual income to any court of record having jurisdiction over the subject matter, the court may order that such party or parties having charge of such money, stocks, bonds, or notes shall pay to the party having the right to receive such annual income a lump sum in accordance with § 55.1-500. This section shall not affect any spendthrift trust.

1926, p. 361; Michie Code 1942, § 5133a; Code 1950, § 55-277; 1973, c. 355; 1981, c. 612; 1990, c. 831; 2005, c. 681; 2019, c. 712.